WEEK 13 Dystopias: "Life As We Knew It" by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Pfeffer, Susan Beth. Harcourt Children's Books, 2006.
Pages [337 p.] [$10.99] ISBN [0152058265]

From Goodreads: "Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove.

Told in journal entries, this is the heart-pounding story of Miranda’s struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all--hope--in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world."

At the time that I read this book I was also reading another book of a similar nature, Megan Crewe 's THE WAY WE FALL, and therefore I cannot help but compare the two. Both books were written in a similar format- that of a journal/ diary. While one of my largest complaints in THE WAY WE FALL was that I was unable to relate to much of the book as I found the writing to be quite flat and one-dimensional, that was anything but the case for this. If I had to describe this book in a few words it would be "a roller coaster of emotions"- I cannot even put to words all of the different emotions that I felt while reading it, one minute I was smiling, the next, I was sobbing.

Aside from the emotional-strength of this book, I think that its other biggest strength is its realism. While reading it I kept wondering to myself how my family and me would fare if something of this nature occurred. I don't think that it would be all that far-fetched for future generations to have to experience something of this nature (for instance, look at the flu endemics that much of our world faced this past winter).

All in all, I think that this is one of the best books of this nature that I had read in a far while- nature taking back the reigns of control, pushing mankind into the beginnings of an apocalyptic society- and, as such, I would highly recommend it to young adult patrons. That being said, on a personal note, I do not intend to continue on with this series (something that is almost unheard of for me), as I don't want my love of this book to be potentially altered/tarnished by any sequels (especially knowing that Miranda and her family are not a the forefront of the next book in the series, but a character named Alex).